File formats

Shotwork writes two kinds of document. Both are plain JSON text you can open in any text editor, and neither contains footage: they point at your video files where they already are.

Extension	Called	What it holds
.shotwork	shot list	The videos you marked, every shot in them, and the fields those shots carry.
.swreel	reel	Which shots play, in what order, for how long, and what sits over and under them.

Shot list

Key	Holds
schema_version	The format version. Currently 5.
fields	The shot list's own metadata fields, copied from the preset it started from.
sources	One record per video.
shots	One record per shot.
exports	Reserved for a later version; nothing writes it yet.

A source

Key	Holds
path	The video's full path, as of the last save.
relative_path	The path from the shot list's own folder, or empty when the video is outside that folder or on another drive.
file_fingerprint	A short signature of the file that recognizes it after a move or rename. It is not an integrity check.
fps_num, fps_den	The exact frame rate as a fraction, for example 24000 and 1001.
frame_count, width, height	The video's length in frames and its frame size.
start_timecode	The timecode embedded in the file.
has_vfr	Whether the video has a variable frame rate.
interest_points	Every interest point on this video, by frame and level.

A shot

Key	Holds
in_frame, out_frame	The first and last frame of the shot, both included.
name, tags, rating, notes, restricted	What you entered in the detail panel.
values	Every preset field's value, by field id.
created_at, updated_at	When the shot was made and last changed, in UTC.

A shot list stores frames only. Seconds and timecode are worked out from the frame rate whenever Shotwork shows them.

Reel

A reel is an edit decision, not a render. It never stores frame positions: Shotwork works them out from your shot lists every time it opens the reel, so a reel cannot carry arithmetic that has gone out of date.

Key	Holds
schema_version	The format version. Currently 20.
name	The reel's name.
timeline_fps	The frame rate as a fraction, or empty to follow the footage.
items	The shots, gaps and cards, in playing order.
trim	Which part of a shortened shot plays: its start or its middle.
max_seconds	The length budget, or empty for none.
include_restricted	Whether restricted shots were allowed when the reel was made.
notes	Notes, such as an AI assistant's reasons for its order.
music_tracks	Each song's file, window on the reel, offset, level and fades.
fades	Fades on clip edges.
default_template, template_overrides	The reel's overlay template by name, and any per-shot overrides.
overlay_fade_frames	How long an overlay takes to fade in after a cut.
viewport_seconds	The length of the reel timeline's canvas.
replace_uses_interest_point	Whether a replacement starts at the new shot's interest point.

An item

Kind	Stores
Shot	The shot's id, how long it holds (empty to play the whole shot), and, once changed, its trim anchor and scale.
Gap	Its length in seconds.
Card	Whether it is an image, color or title card, how long it holds, and the image path, color or template name.

Files from other versions

• An older file opens and is upgraded as it loads. Nothing is lost, and the next save writes the current format.
• A file saved by a newer Shotwork refuses to open, with Could not open shot list or Could not open reel. Update Shotwork to open it.

Beside exported clips

Export shots writes a metadata folder beside the clips, with one JSON file per clip. Each holds the clip's path relative to that folder, the whole shot record with the interest points inside its range, the source video's path, the frames actually exported including handles, the preset, and when it was exported.

Each clip also carries a small copy in its own comment tag: the shot's id, name, tags, project and exported frames. A clip separated from its folder still says what it is.

Overlay templates

One JSON file per template, in the overlay_templates folder of Shotwork's app data. Each lists its items with their zone, kind, text or tag field, image path, font, size, color, scale and offset. Reels refer to a template by name, so a reel moved to another computer shows its overlay only if a template of that name exists there.